D&D (2024) WotC Announces April 22 Release For 2024 System Reference Documents

The System Reference Document 5.2--the tool which helps developers create third-party content using the Dungeons & Dragons core rules engine--will be released under the Creative Commons license on April 22nd.

Additionally, Wizards of the Coast will publish a Conversion Guide for updating game content from the 2014 edition to the 2024 edition. This guide will arrive at a later date.

The Free Rules document on D&D Beyond will also be updated with new D&D Beyond Basic Rules (2024).

The older 5.1 SRD, which is based on the 2014 edition of D&D, will also remain available under both Creative Commons and the Open Game License (OGL).

More information will be available on April 22nd, when the new SRD is released.

A copy of each System Reference Document is stored independently at A5ESRD.com, which includes the 5.1 SRD, the revised 3.5 SRD, and other System Reference Documents (including the enormous A5E SRD).

 

[dave2008]

That seems to me to leave wiggle room on actually putting them in the CC, upon review.

There is always wiggle room. Nothing they say is binding. The can say they will do it, then say the will not. What they say is irrelevant, what they do is what matters. I don't expect them to do anything about 1e, 2e, or 4e. I have only slightly higher hopes we will see the 3.0/3.5 SRD in CC.

 

[mamba]

I don’t know what that means. There are lots of IP references in 1e/2e/4e which they’d need to remove.

there is no document to review, they would need to create a new one. The 3.x SRDs need a review however

 

[dave2008]

I don’t know what that means. There are lots of IP references in 1e/2e/4e which they’d need to remove.

Neither 1e or 2e had SRDs. I am pretty sure that is what @mamba is talking about. Technically 4e had an SRD, but it is functionally useless compared to the 3e & 5e versions.

 

[dave2008]

This is kind of the white whale. I don't know that 1e and 2e really mean that much any more, because fans have long since done retroclones of both using the 3e OGL. 4e is the only iteration of D&D where people can't really get under the hood and tinker with it. It would be fascinating to see what the fandom would do with an "open" 4e.

You can do it with 4e and people have. I believe it was ORCUS. Here is an EnWorld article on it:

Introducing Orcus -- a 4E retroclone​

 

[dave2008]

Pardon my ignorance of the details of publishing (and my ignorance of this thread, I am currently on page 1 of comments), but isn't this actually better?

@mamba has the most of it. However, all the legacy 3e content (WotC and 3PP) doesn't transfer over to CC because it is under the OGL.

 

[mamba]

Thanks, that's what I thought. My next question is, why would a product ever need to use both?

no product would need to, but if you are using other things under OGL already, it is probably more convenient

 

[CleverNickName]

Need? Never. Give more options to the end user? That’s what we choose to do.

@mamba has the most of it. However, all the legacy 3e content (WotC and 3PP) doesn't transfer over to CC because it is under the OGL.

no product would need to, but if you are using other things under OGL already, it is probably more convenient

Gotcha...thanks everyone, I'm up to speed now. I did a little bit of reading (on another site) about the differences between the two, and I think this announcement is a very good thing.

 

[Micah Sweet]

There is always wiggle room. Nothing they say is binding. The can say they will do it, then say the will not. What they say is irrelevant, what they do is what matters. I don't expect them to do anything about 1e, 2e, or 4e. I have only slightly higher hopes we will see the 3.0/3.5 SRD in CC.

Sure, but since they never said they definitely would release it, not releasing it doesn't go back on their previous stance. That's the wiggle room I'm talking about.

 

[J.Quondam]

no product would need to, but if you are using other things under OGL already, it is probably more convenient

This. There's 25 years of stuff out there under OGL: some in active development, some abandoned; some D&D, and some completely different systems and/or genres.

 

[dave2008]

Sure, but since they never said they definitely would release it, not releasing it doesn't go back on their previous stance. That's the wiggle room I'm talking about.

My point is that whether they said they would do something or not is irrelevant to me. What matters is what they do. Everyone's plans change, so saying you would do something and then changing your mind is OK, normal, and to be expected as far as I am concerned. Thus, who cares what you say - just do it!